Getting started and finding your groove is a challenge with any new team, especially if you want to move quickly. But there’s an alternative to a slow start when it comes to software — outsource your development. Here are six ways to know you’ve outsourced your software engineering to a world-class team who’s ready to get the job done.

1. They’re fast-accelerating

When you outsource software development to the right team, they’re ready to go — Sprint Zero. According to Renee Troughton, author of Agile Forest and co-chair of The Agile Revolution podcast, Sprint Zero is “being ready and able to deliver business value that is usable and potentially releasable.” Who wouldn’t want that? Establishing an internal team is a completely different situation. If you decide to field an in-house team, expect to spend significant time — as much as six months to a year — on the recruiting and hiring process, situating employees in their work spaces, discussing company policies and other HR tasks, inescapably delaying your software project. But when you outsource software development, a fast-accelerating team will be ready to work — right from the start — providing an efficient launch.

2. They’re crazy innovative

By the nature of their job, outsourced development teams have broader exposure to a variety of software initiatives. This makes them more innovative thinkers who can look at different ways of creating software, solving problems and overcoming challenges. The more software they develop — and the more types of software they touch across different industries — the better they become.

3. They’re super knowledgeable

Good software development teams know industry standards, processes and procedures, and concepts like DevOps and agile aren’t new to them. They follow best practices and testing to make sure quality code and software is delivered. In addition to being well-informed, smart teams ask lots of questions. They initiate discussions about where the software will be hosted and they help sort out all of the details, if needed, when planning your software.

4. They live and breathe the latest trends and technologies

A great software development team doesn’t just know and understand the latest updates and trends; they pursue and adopt them. Good teams determine the best technology for your software from among the many choices, and they’re open and free with all tech discussions, to bring greater value to the final software product. Like what you may ask? In 2015 it was IoT, React and the MEAN stack. In 2016, it was the ELK stack, microservices and Spark.

5. They have shadow workers

Expect shadow workers on your software team, who work or review the team’s efforts in tandem. All great software outsourcing companies follow this practice. This way, if someone leaves the company, another developer is ready to take their spot. There’s continuity, so things continue uninterrupted and trouble-free. You’ll never miss a release or other deadline because of lack of talent.

6. Their diversity rocks

A great software team will have diversity, says Mike Cannon-Brookes, Atlassian co-founder and co-CEO, whose company offers a software development tool used by agile teams. In a recent article in The Australian, Cannon-Brookes says, “True genius results when people from different experiences come together to tackle tough challenges. That’s why teams — not just companies — need to be diverse and inclusive for the most meaningful business impact. When software development teams have different experience and backgrounds, it contributes to making the best possible software.”

And Scientific American says, “Decades of research by organizational scientists, psychologists, sociologists, economists and demographers shows that socially diverse groups (that is, those with a diversity of race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation) are more innovative than homogeneous groups.”

This article was written by Steve Mezak from CIO and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.